Re: [ontology-summit] [Quality] What means

[Pat Hayes <phayes@xxxxxxx>]

At 11:34 AM -0400 3/28/08, Peter Benson wrote:

> All:
> Perhaps I should put my comment on the concept of "truth"
> into context.
> There are many that consider truth and reality to be very relative
> and
> tenuous concepts, I include myself in this group (having been educated
> by
> the Jesuits in France only to spend the best part of forty years
> working
> with the Tibetans you can probably forgive me). I consider myself to
> be a
> logical scientist at heart and I know that physical and mathematical
> "laws"
> are critical to predicting outcomes but I draw the line at asserting
> that I
> or anyone else can ever be sure of what
> is the "truth"

Like most of those who claim that truth is relative or unattainable, you confuse truth with certainty of truth. One can - indeed, one should - agree that there is one truth, and that none of us can know it. But that is not at all the same as saying that there is no truth.

> ; hey we may all just
> be a figment of each others imagination.

Really, you should not toss aside quips like this in the presence of philosophers. If I am a figment of your imagination, then why are you bothering to send emails to me? And if, on the other hand, you are a figment of mine, why should I bother to reply?

Pat

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